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Microsoft Launches 'Seven Days Of Windows 7' Deals

Microsoft is running a series of special promotions in the hopes of kick-starting sales of Windows 7. The company will offer a new deal each day in the first week of the system's release.

The most high-profile promotion starting today takes place at Best Buy. The store is offering a package, subsidized by Microsoft, which gives users three HP computers -- a desktop, a laptop and a netbook -- plus an LCD monitor, an Internet router and free set-up advice for a total of $1,199.

Three PCs for the Price of a Mac

Even taking into account that the desktop being offered is a relatively low-spec affair, the price offers a savings of more than $500. Microsoft is taking special care to stress the point that customers get three PCs for the price of a Mac. (Source: businessweek.com)

The idea to use Best Buy for such a deal is appropriate; Microsoft is hoping the store, which has acted as a launching pad for many other tech items in the past, will help generate the kind of excitement it needs to make Windows 7 sell and sell well.

More dedicated computer users are likely to have already tried the system in the various beta editions, while businesses have already been able to use Windows 7, too. The big target now is people interested in boxed copies of the system and those in the market for a new PC.

Buy The New, Upgrade The Old

The Best Buy deal will run until January, as will a Microsoft offer in which people buying a new Windows 7 computer can get a discount on an upgrade disc for a computer they already own which currently runs XP or Vista. (Source: zdnet.com)

Other deals on offer during the "Seven days of Windows 7 promotion" may be shorter-lived. They include the Windows 7 Family Pack, a three-for-one deal for upgrading existing computers in the same home. There are also previously announced offers for students to buy Windows 7 upgrades at a hefty discount. In the US, accredited students can buy an upgrade to the system for just $30, about 1/4 the regular cost of an upgrade.